While peaches and cherries continue to be prevalent fruit crops in Japan, local demand and consumption of those fruits continues to be low. Production is likely to be steady for both crops this season, and diminishing acreage indicates that significant growth is unlikely in the future.
Cherry production in Japan fell between 2011 and 2012 by almost 3,000 MT, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service. Part of that was due to damage to tree branches by heavy snow as well as bad weather during the blossom period of the 2012 season. But, barring similar difficulties this season, production is likely to rebound to 18,600 MT this season, which would be 800 MT more than what was produced last season.
Local demand for cherries and peaches is low in Japan, with the report citing that daily per capita consumption of fruit in Japan is only 140 grams. Economic hardships have also contributed to lower production of fruit, and in the case of peaches, diminished production can also be tied to fewer orchards.
While there were 10,500 peach-producing hectares 10 years ago, that figure fell to 9,950 hectares last season. That's led to less production over the years, though this season's estimated production of 130,000 MT is still bigger than last season's production of 135,200 MT.